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But the message claims: 'Your gas and electricity meters need to be upgraded to our new self-reading smart meters'.

Nowhere does it state that smart meters do not have to be installed.

Homes in the UK do not have to switch their meters, and many consumers have told us they want to keep their standard meter following a raft of problems with the roll-out.

Eon and the rest of the Big Six energy providers are obliged to offer a smart meter to all eligible customers by 2020, according to a government target.

The meters will make it easier to understand and pay for energy use.

However, there have been some teething problems.

Some of the first wave of smart meters installed may lose their smart functionality if switched to a different energy supplier.

We have also heard from a number of readers who do not want to have one installed for other reasons, such as fears over security risks or over the meter interfering with other household appliances.

Eon and the other Big Six energy firms have a target of 2020 for contacting consumers

We asked Eon why these messages had been sent out.

An spokesperson told us they hadn't been sent out to all customers, but at the time of publishing hadn't confirmed how many had received them.

They said: 'We're obliged to contact our customers about upgrading their classic meters with a new self-reading smart meter to support our commitment to Ofgem.

'While smart meters are not compulsory, we firmly believe smart meters offer a number of significant benefits for customers, including bringing an end to estimated bills and the ability to gain a greater understanding of their energy use which can help them lower their energy consumption. If a customer does not want a smart meter, then they can contact us.'

We also spoke to Smart Energy GB, the organisation behind the roll out, which also confirmed that it wasn't compulsory to have a meter fitted.

Robert Cheesewright, director of policy and communications at Smart Energy GB, said: 'The smart meter roll-out will benefit everyone by bringing down energy bills, upgrading our national grid and delivering savings of £6billion to the British economy by 2030 - but there's no obligation for anyone to have one - whether you accept a smart meter is completely up to you.

'If you change your mind, you can ask your supplier for a smart meter at a later date.'

The regulator, Ofgem, is in charge of creating the guidelines for energy providers around what they can say to customers so we also approached it for a comment.

A spokesperson replied: 'It is not compulsory to have a smart meter installed - consumers have a right to decline them and suppliers must not mislead consumers.

There is no obligation to have a smart meter fitted and it is the consumer's choice

'Ofgem is working with suppliers offering smart meter installations to make sure their communications help their customers reap the benefits of smart metering and are transparent and accurate.'

However, while Eon, Smart Energy GB and Ofgem all confirmed that having a smart meter wasn't compulsory - we weren't given an explanation as to why Eon was able to send these messages out.

We approached Ofgem to ask if it would open an investigation into these communications and a spokesperson said: 'We don’t speculate on individual cases until we open a formal investigation. We regularly review suppliers’ communications with customers and will take action if we find that they have been misleading.'

This isn't the first time we've reported on Eon and how it communicates to readers about smart meters.

At the time a spokesperson for the firm said: 'Smart meters are not compulsory and we're reviewing our communications to ensure this is made clearer in the future.'

GOT A SMART METER QUESTION?

Have you switched energy providers with a smart meter and did you encounter any problems doing so? We would like to hear your story. Contact: rebecca.rutt@thisismoney.co.uk.

Do you have an energy question you would like to have answered? Contact: experts@thisismoney.co.uk with the subject line 'energy expert'

Mark Todd, co-founder of Energyhelpline, comments: 'No customer should feel obliged to take a smart meter. It is our understanding that suppliers are not permitted to say that customers 'need' to take a smart meter if they have a functioning standard meter. In our view, this kind of pressurising language is inappropriate and should not be used.

'Our advice to customers is to take a SMETS2 smart meter but not a SMETS1 model. SMETS2 models will continue to operate in a smart fashion when you switch whereas SMETS1 versions are unlikely to.

'We feel the smart meter roll out has been ridiculously rushed and totally mismanaged by the Government. The SMETS1 roll out should have been a small pilot.

'Instead it has turned into a massive roll out of 8.6 million meters and counting costing roughly £1 billion. In the end more than 10 million smart meters that have big interoperability issues look set to be rolled out. Suppliers like SMETS1 meters as they are cheap and make customers less likely to switch away from them. They are in their interest but not the national interest.

'The software to fix the problem which is being built by the Government was meant to be rolled out around 18 months ago and still has not been released. The whole thing currently appears to be a vast waste of money and a total shambles.

'In summary, our advice is – do not feel pressured, take a SMETS2 smart meter and not a SMETS1, and our plea to the Secretary of State is stop rolling out these bad meters. '

Although the Government deadline to install 53million smart meters is just two years away, figures show that 8.6million have been fitted so far – some 84 per cent below target.

The NAO is looking into whether the multibillion pound roll-out with actually save households money. It said it will assess the 'current economic case for the roll-out of smart meters' and look at whether it is 'on track on achieve its target by 2020.'

The results of the investigation will be published in the summer.

If your energy firm is pushing you into installing a smart meter and you think it's sending misleading information, please get in touch with us at 'experts@thisismoney.co.uk'.

THE WINTER COLLECTIVE : COULD YOU SAVE MONEY ON YOUR BILLS?

This is Money has joined forces once more with energyhelpline to launch a new collective switch to help readers save money on energy bills.

The Winter Collective allows our readers to team up with thousands of other people and use their collective power to negotiate a unique offer on their energy bills.

Switchers taking advantage in the past have typically shaved £265 from their annual dual fuel bills.

This special deal turns the table on energy firms - rather than households having to hunt out a better price, they will be competing to offer you one.

You can register with just a few details here and once we have picked the winning deal we will deliver a unique tariff straight to your inbox on February 14.

If you decide to switch and save money you can. If you decide it is not for you then you do not have to take it.

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